Easy and Profitable, What's Not to Like?

"I don't know why, but I feel especially relaxed today."

As they headed out, Naruto Uzumaki packed up his ninja tools—generously lending Wu Yu a set in the process—and said in confusion, squinting, "I have no idea why, but I feel especially relaxed today."

Wu Yu slapped him on the back. "You can finally earn money to support yourself, of course you're full of energy!"

"Money, money, money... Wu Yu, did you become a ninja just to make money?" Naruto Uzumaki grumbled as he tugged on his heel and stepped outside, then waited for Wu Yu to come out before locking the door.

Wu Yu said, "What's wrong with making money? Since you want to become Hokage, you can't pour cold water on subordinates like me who want to make money! Watch out, or workers like us might rebel."

"Does becoming Hokage really mean I have to think about stuff like that...?"

Filled with question marks, Naruto Uzumaki followed Wu Yu and leaped straight out of the apartment building. They pushed off from the top of a utility pole, jumped to a row of distant rooftops, and took off at a sprint, their destination naturally being Kakashi Hatake's House.

Wu Yu and Naruto hopped across rooftops and scaled walls as though playing hopscotch. When they landed outside Kakashi's bedroom window, they found Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha already inside, while Kakashi Hatake sat on the bed talking to them.

Wu Yu knocked on the glass. Sasuke came over and opened the window, and Naruto climbed in after him.

"You're actually sitting up, Kakashi. I thought you'd stay in bed for a few more days." Wu Yu greeted Kakashi Hatake amicably.

"Just what kind of image do I have in your eyes..." Kakashi Hatake retorted weakly.

"You thought Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be able to move today?" Naruto Uzumaki looked at Wu Yu strangely. "Then why were you expecting to take missions and make money today?"

Wu Yu said smugly, "What does Team Seven's Jonin instructor being unable to get out of bed have to do with me, Team Zero, taking missions to make money? You get it, but you don't!"

"So I've already become someone who can't get out of bed..." Kakashi muttered gloomily.

Sakura Haruno said in surprise, "Oh, right. There's that too."

With his arms folded, Sasuke Uchiha said coolly, "Team Zero only has you in it. You should still be able to temporarily add one or two members to carry out missions together, right?"

Kakashi Hatake: Get me up!

Enduring the pain throughout his body, he got out of bed and covered his left eye. "For certain reasons, I'm doing much better now. Fighting would still be a bit difficult, but leading a few Genin like you on D-Rank Missions will be no problem at all. Give me a few minutes."

After only a few steps to loosen up, Kakashi adapted to the pain wracking his body. Then, as if nothing were wrong, he swiftly washed up and packed his gear... Before Wu Yu could even get a good look, Kakashi had already returned to the same appearance he had worn when they first met the day before yesterday: a slanted forehead protector covering his left eye, a standard green Konoha ninja flak jacket, and a ninja tool pouch at the back of his waist.

"Let's go. Team Seven... and Team Zero, move out. Our destination is the Hokage Building."

Kakashi waved a hand. Only Naruto enthusiastically played along, letting out a cheer and eagerly taking the lead.

Once they reached the Hokage Building, the group headed straight for the mission assignment desk.

Along the way, quite a few people gave Kakashi Hatake startled looks when they saw him. It left Kakashi speechless. Just how many people knew that he had ended up bedridden after the Survival Exercise...?

"Kakashi, is your body all right?"

Unexpectedly, the first thing the Third Hokage said when they arrived at the mission assignment counter was exactly that.

Kakashi Hatake felt thoroughly embarrassed, though his expression remained calm. "I merely overused the Sharingan and got a little tired. Lord Hokage, please assign missions to these Genin instead."

"You overused the Sharingan?" Umino Iruka, who was seated alongside the Hokage as today's teacher representative responsible for mission assignments, was shocked. He slammed a hand onto the desk and rose to his feet. "It was only a Survival Exercise, yet you used such a dangerous technique on a few Genin? Isn't that far too reckless?!"

"Iruka..." The Third Hokage did not know what to say. Concern had made him lose his judgment—couldn't he see that Kakashi himself had been the one to end up bedridden?

In response to Iruka's questioning, Kakashi Hatake said flatly, "I know my own subordinates well enough. On the other hand, you schoolteachers had an outstanding ninja like Nakamori Wu Yu sent back to the Ninja Academy for retraining twice in a row, yet you never once looked into the reason. So who exactly has been more negligent?"

"Nakamori Wu..." Umino Iruka hesitated. Only then did he remember that the specially handled Team Zero this year was also under Kakashi's charge. He looked at Wu Yu, who had an arm draped over each of Naruto and Sasuke's shoulders. Wu Yu was already getting impatient from waiting and urged, "Stop dawdling, esteemed teachers. Where are the missions? Hurry, hurry, hurry! Time is money!"

"Yeah, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto Uzumaki grinned broadly, arm in arm with Wu Yu. "If Kakashi-sensei hadn't used that Sharingan thing, how could we possibly have been his match? Hahahaha..."

Kakashi-sensei clearly only used the Sharingan when he faced Wu Yu... Sakura Haruno silently complained beside them.

"All right, enough chatter." The Third Hokage tapped his pipe, drew a sheet from the pile of papers listing unfinished missions, and read, "The first mission for Team Seven and Team Zero, led by Kakashi, is... Oh, help the household at 10 Forest Street repair their house. The reward is 10,000 Ryo."

Ding!

Wu Yu instantly did the math in his head. His share would be... Huh? He raised a hand and asked, "Does Kakashi get a cut of the mission reward?"

"Why would a Jonin instructor split that tiny bit of mission pay with newly graduated Genin?"

Umino Iruka explained helplessly but patiently, "Don't worry. A Jonin leading a team and training Genin is itself a long-term A-Rank Mission, with a final reward as high as 1,000,000 Ryo!" He deliberately lowered his voice for the last sentence, speaking secretly to Wu Yu and the others.

"One million Ryo?!" Naruto Uzumaki's eyes gleamed as he slapped the table. "Grandpa Hokage, give us an A-Rank Mission too, and soon!"

"As long as Jonin don't get a cut, that's fine." Wu Yu nodded in satisfaction. Split evenly among the four of them, he would get 2,500 Ryo. If he saved carefully, that would be enough to eat for a month.

Ninjas really did make good money!

Sakura Haruno felt embarrassed and ashamed. She dragged Naruto Uzumaki, who was still protesting to the Third Hokage's refusal, outside. Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha slowly followed behind them. Sasuke did so because he wanted to look cool and did not want to be too close to that guy Naruto for the moment; Kakashi did so because every step sent pain through his entire body...

As for Wu Yu, he was already on his way to the mission target.

"Still, I didn't expect things to turn out like this..."

At 10 Forest Street in Konoha, Kakashi Hatake sat on the rooftop across the street. While reading a newly bought copy of Icha Icha Paradise, he occasionally looked up at the opposite side.

The homeowner directed the four Genin—Nakamori Wu Yu, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno—as they bustled around, tearing down most of the damaged house and then renovating it anew with an efficiency ordinary workers could never hope to match.

Behind him stood Wu Yu's Shadow Clone. The kid kept saying that even a mosquito was meat, acting as though he were full of enthusiasm even for D-Rank Missions, yet he had still found time amid the work to create a Shadow Clone for training.

Over there, Sasuke carried lumber while unable to stop himself from glancing at the rooftop across the street. In the end, he too created a Shadow Clone. Seeing his companion grinding away as though racing against every second, he felt a little panicked.

If they were going to compete, then he might as well go all out.